Gift packages
- Vegetarian
- Energy Kcal 1107
- Carbohydrates g 103.7
- of which sugars g 103.3
- Protein g 11.7
- Fats g 71.7
- of which saturated fat g 31.77
- Fiber g 6
- Cholesterol mg 394
- Sodium mg 59
- Difficulty: Average
- Prep time: 40 min
- Cook time: 1 h 20 min
- Serving: 12
- Cost: Low
PRESENTATION
Pacchetti regalo is a treat that really gets people talking at a party. Seriously, these little cake gifts are straight from the world of Italian sweets, and they look as fun as they taste. Each one is like a mini present—inside, you’ll find a rich dark chocolate mud cake that’s super moist and loaded with a smooth buttercream filling. It’s all wrapped up in a bright, colorful layer of marzipan, which you can tint any shade you want. And look, that’s what makes these so special: you can get really creative with the colors and decorations, making every piece a little bit different. Italian pastry shops are known for this kind of baking—where the outside looks sweet and playful, and the inside is totally unexpected.
Across Italy, you’ll see marzipan-wrapped desserts, but pacchetti regalo take it up a notch with that chocolate surprise in the middle and all the possibilities for pretty toppings. Pretty much anything goes.
What’s cool is how these sweets turn even a small get-together into something more festive. Birthday tables, afternoon tea, or just hanging out with friends—pacchetti regalo fit right in, adding a pop of color and a tender bite that everyone remembers. People in Italy love putting their own spin on them, using marzipan in shades from pale pink to bright green, and sometimes even adding little details like edible glitter or sugar flowers. And the kids? They love it. Kids and grownups both enjoy unwrapping the marzipan layer to find the rich, chocolatey center, which is super decadent and just the right kind of surprise.
These sweets are a great example of how Italian baking puts just as much focus on how food looks as how it tastes. Whether you’re lining them up on a fancy platter or just passing them around the living room, marzipan-wrapped treats like these make any day feel a little more special. Plus, since the decorations are up to you, every batch of pacchetti regalo can show off your own style—there’s really no wrong way to make them be different. With their colorful colors and delicious centers, these treats are a nod to the playful artistry of Italian desserts. And you know what? They’re really, really fun to make.
INGREDIENTS
- Ingredients for the mud cake (for 12 packages)
- Butter 1.1 cups (250 g)
- Sugar 1 ¼ cup (250 g)
- Type 00 flour 1 ¾ cup (220 g)
- Dark chocolate 7.1 oz (200 g)
- Unsweetened cocoa powder ¼ cup (30 g)
- Instant coffee 3 ½ tsp (7 g)
- Whole milk 0.375 cup (100 ml)
- Eggs 3 - medium
- Baking powder 1 ¾ tsp (8 g)
- Vanilla bean 1
- For the buttercream
- Butter 1 ½ cup (350 g)
- Sugar 1 ½ cup (300 g)
- Egg yolks 12
- Water 3.5 oz (100 ml)
- Vanilla bean 1
- For decorating
- Marzipan 35.3 oz (1 kg)
- Food coloring to taste
How to prepare Gift packages
To prepare the gift packages, start with the mud cake batter: melt the dark chocolate in a bain-marie, and once it's melted, add the chopped butter 1. Stir with a spatula 2 and when the butter has melted, pour the mixture into a bowl and add the instant coffee 3.
Then slit a vanilla bean 4 and scrape out the seeds; add them to the melted chocolate 5, then also pour in the sugar 6,
the eggs and the milk, and mix the batter with a whisk 7. In a separate bowl, pour the flour, the baking powder 8, then also add the unsweetened cocoa powder 9
and mix the batter with the whisk 10 until you obtain a smooth and homogeneous mixture. Pour it into a greased and floured rectangular baking pan measuring 7.5x9.8 inches 11 and bake the mud cake in a preheated static oven at 356°F for 60 minutes (320°F for 50 minutes if using a fan oven). Once baked, remove it from the oven 12 and let it cool slightly before unmolding and allowing it to cool completely on a wire rack.
While the cake bakes, prepare the buttercream: in a saucepan, pour the water and sugar, stir and bring to a boil; use a kitchen thermometer to ensure the sugar syrup does not exceed 250°F 13. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks (you can also use an electric mixer), add the syrup when it reaches the correct temperature 14 and continue to beat until the mixture is cool 15.
Meanwhile, beat the softened butter with the seeds from a vanilla bean 16; when the cream is cool, add one teaspoon of butter at a time, waiting for the previous to be incorporated before adding more 17. When the buttercream is ready, place it in a bowl and, if the mud cake is still too warm to be filled, cover it with cling film touching the surface 18 and refrigerate until ready to use.
When the mud cake is completely cool, cut it into 2 layers 19 and fill the base with the buttercream placed in a pastry bag 20. Close with the other base 21,
trim the edges to even out the cake and divide it into 12 equal cubes, each 2 inches per side 22. Cover each cube with the leftover buttercream, spread with a spatula 23. Now prepare the decorations (in these photo sequences we show an example of decoration, but you can get creative with colors and bows): roll out a block of marzipan with a rolling pin 24;
then cut out a cross with equal arms, 6 inches long and 2 inches wide 25: wrap each package with one arm while the other can be cut into two squares of 2 inches per side to close the package (26-27).
Then color another block of marzipan with a few drops of food coloring to make the ribbons and colored bow: in this case, we used red coloring 28 and made two strips about 0.4 inches thick 29 to place on the packages like a ribbon 30.
Then make a small bow with colored marzipan 31 and place it on the package at the ribbon (32-33). Create many gift packages to unwrap bite after bite!